Christmas Spirit

Hot cocoa anyone?


Diego and I spent one afternoon opening our own stand while Carmen napped on and on. Occasionally she'll take these mega three hour naps, which had I known, I would have joined her.

I asked him what time the cafe opened and he said, "It opens in spring."

"When does it close?"

"16:48."  (Four year old time.)  So that's what the sign says.




I remembered one year when Diego didn't know whose birthday was on Christmas so we had a little conversation in the car the other day.  I reminded him that Jesus' birthday is on Christmas and this is how the conversation unfolded:

Me:  Jesus' birthday is on Christmas so that's why we celebrate Christmas.

Diego:  Jesus has an invisible head.

Me:  What does that mean?

Diego:  No one can see Jesus' head, they can only see his body.

Me: Oh.  (It started making sense because somewhere in the Bible it says no one can look upon God's face.)

Diego: Only his friends can see his face.

Me:  Who are his friends?

Diego:  The people that walk with him.

Now if that isn't profound, I don't know what is.



Two nights ago, we set out around 7pm to look at some local Christmas lights.  You should have HEARD the incessant bickering that went on between the kids.  I believe I said the dreaded "S" word to the kids and the angels above gasped!
"Shut up!"
We threatened to go home with enough meaning in it that they finally stopped.  But there was one house that made it all worthwhile...a beautiful light show set to music on a radio station.  We even thought about getting take out the next night and parking our car in front of their house to eat...it was that cool.



I pulled out our Child's Story Bible yesterday to read the story of the holy birth to the kids and went on to read about the wonder of the star and the wicked King Herod.  It was a wonderful retelling and perfectly timed by God for when we went to the Zoo's Christmas pageant last night.   It was pretty last minute, but we thought we'd hit the 7:45pm show...and so did everyone else in Richmond.  It took us a while to park, and I even suggested we forget about it several times, but I'm glad we didn't.  Once we were parked, we stood in line for a bit while the Roman guards approached and told us to tell them if we saw where the baby to be king was.  (We knew better, of course.)

JP sprang for Krispy Kreme doughnuts and hot cocoa, so the night was perfect.  And we watched the story that we had heard earlier in the day come to life.

Our Christmas spirit continues to ebb and flow.  Joaquin even stated on the way home, "I'm much better behaved when it's not Christmas."  Aren't we all.

It's just another reminder of how grateful we are that a little baby was born in a manger long ago.

Merry Christmas!



ps.  If you're interested in making your own hot chocolate cafe, you'll probably need:
cups
cotton balls (or white pompoms)
spoons
cut up brown craft foam or paper
brown grocery bag for the sign
recycled containers
money
any other extras you can think of

Here's a link to the original idea.  Enjoy!